Chapter 2
Devon
I sat in my car and watched Cassy smile as she moved from table to table. She wasn’t the shy girl who watched everyone from the shadows any longer. She’d blossomed into a beautiful woman who could light up a room with her smile.
I realized I was nervous. I didn’t have any right to intrude on her life and yet, I found myself drawn to her even more now than when I’d been a teenage asshole. I thought about the first time I’d ever seen her. I was a year older than her so I was in my second year of high school when she first appeared nervously with a deer in headlights look. One of her sisters was a senior and appeared to help her get settled in.
The smile she wore when she saw Myka was so beautiful and I knew then and there she was it for me. I kept myself away, knowing that being with me would make her a target and I could never do that to her. In the years that followed, I found myself looking for her smile. Seeing it always seemed to calm my soul even when it wasn’t meant for me.
After I graduated high school, I realized that I was not the man Cassy would ever deserve and practically overnight I decided to join the Army. I spent the last five years working to become someone who could proudly stand beside her.
I discovered that being away was torture in itself. I regularly had nightmares that Cassy had found someone else and I’d lost my chance. Whenever I spoke to my Mom or my brother, Chris, over the past five years, inevitably at some point I’d find myself asking about the Johnson sisters and Cassy in particular.
Now I was back and relieved that the nightmare was just that and not reality. I watched as old Mr. Willowby said something to her, making her laugh. I couldn’t help but smile watching her. I wanted that with her, my heart was pleading with me to get out of my car and take the first steps to a brighter future.
Turning off my car I did just that. It was a bitterly cold winter night but winter in Montana was amazing and beautiful. Pulling my coat tighter around my body I took step after step, keeping Cassy in my view. I entered Trudy’s to a round of welcomes from the town residents.
“Hi Devon, there’s a seat at the counter. Cassy will be right with you.” She gave me a knowing smile that told me she knew all too well why I was there. I looked into her eyes and didn’t see any animosity. Her smile deepened and with a slight nod to me, she returned to the tables.
I settled down at the corner and was distracting myself by looking at the menu when I heard a soft, “Hi, Devon.”
I looked up into the face of an angel and her gentle, shy smile. “Hi, Cassy. It’s been a long time. You’re even more beautiful than I remember.” Cassy’s pinkened cheeks as her smile deepened caused the ice in my soul to instantly start to melt.
“Welcome home. You were gone for a long time.”
“I joined the Army right after high school.” I watched as her face reflected the surprise that was in her eyes.
“Oh. I didn’t know you served. Are you home for good or just on leave?”
I smiled at her knowledge of the lingo as I replied, “For good. My parents are getting older and with Chris having a new baby his hands are quite full. So, it was time to come home. I’m renovating the guest house and plan to live there. But enough of me, how are you and your sisters doing? This old diner looks great and seems to be hoping.”
“We’re doing well. Dina’s idea to buy this place has been a lot of hard work but good hard work. The kind we all needed to keep us busy and help us move forward. Anyways, what can I get for the prodigal son returning home?”
I chuckled softly at her reference. She wasn’t far from the truth. “Just a cup of coffee and a slice of pie. Any kind.”
“Any kind?”
“Yup, surprise me.” Her giggle as she nodded gave me such joy it almost took me by surprise. I watched as she placed a mug in front of me and filled it up with coffee before placing a slice of lemon meringue pie in front of me.
“All of our pies are from the bakery down the street. Katrine and Dina are the cooks but none of us can bake to save our lives. So the bakery was the best bet.”
I take a bite and moan. “This is delicious!”
Cassy blushes the prettiest color of pink. “It’s one of my favorites. I love the sweet and sour flavor mix.”
“I can see why.” I look up at her and take a deep breath. “Umm… Cassy, will you be taking a break any time soon?”
Cassy stood blinking at me and then she whispered, “N-no, but I’m off when Dina gets in. Why?”
“It’s a chilly night but it’s a beautiful one and I wanted to know if you wanted to take a walk with me around town?”
Cassy’s blush deepened and she nodded shyly. “I’d like that.”